Transport processes in the upper atmosphere

Abstract

The transport of chemical clouds, created in the upper atmosphere by explosive release from a rocket, has been studied by visual and photographic means. These clouds were for the most part gaseous cesium with a trace of added sodium. This study is concerned with that period after the initial explosive phase when winds and eddy or molecular diffusion control the motion of the cloud. Measurements of the radial growth and concentration group sizes within the contaminant make it possible to determine the diffusion coefficients and eddy scales. An estimate of ∈, the rate of viscous dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy per unit mass, in the altitude region 95 to 105 km is also given.

Mesospheric turbulence measurements from persistent Leonid meteor train observations

“…Man‐made trails, using sodium, lithium, and trimethyl aluminum (TMA) released from rockets, have been used for decades to measure upper atmospheric winds. They also have been used to study turbulence in a manner similar to the methods used in the current study [ Zimmerman and Champion , 1963; Justus , 1966; Zimmerman and Trowbridge , 1973]. Our results are, in fact, quite similar to those from man‐made trails and also those which employed expanding clouds of chaff.…”

“…In what follows, the Puff Daddy video footage is analyzed to study the train's turbulent motions. This analysis is similar to work using cesium and trimethyl aluminum releases to measure winds and turbulent diffusion [ Zimmerman and Champion , 1963; Justus , 1966; Zimmerman and Trowbridge , 1973]. Figure 2 shows an image of a chemical release and a plot of the mean square radius versus time for the cloud studied by Zimmerman and Trowbridge [1973].…”

“…Additionally, the long‐lived luminosity of the persistent trains allowed them to be used to study turbulent transport. Similar measurements have been done using chemical releases [ Zimmerman and Champion , 1963; Justus , 1966; Zimmerman and Trowbridge , 1973], but this appears to be the first time persistent trains have been used for this purpose.…”

“…This approach is certainly valid for the former case and reasonable as well for the latter study since only an estimate was needed due to the very large value found; clearly this region of the trail exhibited eddy diffusion. Here we study the development of one of the trails in more detail using methods developed theoretically by Batchelor [1950] and applied to the study of man‐made trails by previous authors [e.g., Zimmerman and Champion , 1963; Justus , 1966; Zimmerman and Trowbridge , 1973].…”

Movement and dispersal of inhomogeneities in plasma

“…This is important primarily as regards the study of the ionosphere and terrestrial and cosmic space. For example, diffusion plays an important part in problems dealing with the formation and the shape of ionospheric layers [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9], clouds of artificial ionization set up by rockets and high-altitude explosions [10][11][12][13][14], the origin and structure of ionospheric inhomogeneities [15][16][17][18], and in particular inhomogeneities in the E layer which result from hydrodynamic turbulence [19,20]. Diffusion processes play a determining part in the formation of trails of meteorites, satellites, and rockets in the ionosphere [21][22][23], as well as in the scattering of radio waves by these trails [24][25][26][27][28].…”